|
Drunken Monkey Hypothesis
The drunken monkey hypothesis proposes that human attraction to alcohol may derive from dependence of the primate ancestors of ''Homo sapiens'' on ripe and fermenting fruit as a dominant food source.''The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol'', University of California Press, 154 pp., 2014. Ethanol naturally occurs in ripe and overripe fruit when yeasts ferment sugars, and consequently early primates (and many other fruit-eating animals) have evolved a genetically based behavioral attraction to the molecule. This hypothesis was originally proposed by Robert Dudley of the University of California at Berkeley, and was the subject of a symposium at the 2004 annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. His book ''The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol'' was published in 2014 by the University of California Press. Dudley suggests that, whereas most addictive substances have a relatively short history of human use, attraction to and consu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcohol (drug)
Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor). Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, decreasing Action potential, electrical activity of neurons in the brain, which causes the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication ("drunkenness"). Among other effects, alcohol produces euphoria, anxiolytic, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, and impairment of cognitive, memory, motor control, motor, and sense, sensory function. Alcohol has a variety of adverse effects. Short-term effects of alcohol consumption, Short-term adverse effects include generalized impairment of neurocognitive function, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and symptoms of hangover. Alcohol is addiction, addictive and can result in alcohol use disorder, Substance dependence, dependence, and Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, withdrawal upon cessation. The long-term effects of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primate
Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and simians (monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 million years ago first from small terrestrial animal, terrestrial mammals, which adapted for life in tropical forests: many primate characteristics represent adaptations to the challenging environment among Canopy (biology), tree tops, including large brain sizes, binocular vision, color vision, Animal communication, vocalizations, shoulder girdles allowing a large degree of movement in the upper limbs, and opposable thumbs (in most but not all) that enable better grasping and dexterity. Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, which weighs , to the eastern gorilla, weighing over . There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homo Sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing#Evolution of hairlessness, hairlessness, bipedality, bipedalism, and high Human intelligence, intelligence. Humans have large Human brain, brains, enabling more advanced cognitive skills that facilitate successful adaptation to varied environments, development of sophisticated tools, and formation of complex social structures and civilizations. Humans are Sociality, highly social, with individual humans tending to belong to a Level of analysis, multi-layered network of distinct social groups — from families and peer groups to corporations and State (polity), political states. As such, social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of Value theory, values, norm (sociology), social norms, languages, and traditions (co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermentation
Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduced by donating their electrons to other organic molecules (cofactors, coenzymes, etc.). Fermentation is important in several areas of human society. Humans have used fermentation in the production and preservation of food for 13,000 years. It has been associated with health benefits, unique flavor profiles, and making products have better texture. Humans and their livestock also benefit from fermentation from the microbes in the gut that release end products that are subsequently used by the host for energy. Perhaps the most commonly known use for fermentation is at an industrial level to produce commodity chemicals, such as ethanol and lactate. Ethanol is used in a variety of alcoholic beverages (beers, wine, and spirits) while lactate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of California At Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley, it is the state's first land-grant university and is the founding campus of the University of California system. Berkeley has an enrollment of more than 45,000 students. The university is organized around fifteen schools of study on the same campus, including the College of Chemistry, the College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, and the Haas School of Business. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was originally founded as part of the university. Berkeley was a founding member of the Association of American Universities and was one of the original eight " Public Ivy" schools. In 2021, the federal funding for campus research and devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society For Integrative And Comparative Biology
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is organized to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ..... The society was formed in 1902 as the American Society of Zoologists, through the merger of two societies, the "Central Naturalists" and the "American Morphological Society" (founded in 1890). The Ecological Society of America split from it in 1915, and another society of geneticists also split from it in 1930. In 1996 the name was changed to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The society publishes two scientific journals: the bimonthly journal '' Integrative and Comparative Biology (''formerly the ''American Zoologist'') and '' Evolution & Development''.. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of alcohol-related substance abuse. This spectrum can range from being mild, moderate, or severe. This can look like consumption of more than 2 drinks per day on average for men, or more than 1 drink per day on average for women, to binge drinking. Alcohol abuse was a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-IV, but it has been merged with alcohol dependence in the DSM-5 into alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder, also known as AUD, shares similar conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the most used term, alcoholism. Globally, excessive alcohol consumption is the seventh leading risk factor for both death and the burden of disease and injury, representing 5.1% of the total global burden of disease and injury, measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). After tobacco, alcohol accounts for a higher burden of disease than any other drug. Alcohol use is a major cause of preve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Models Of Human Drug Use
Evolutionary models of drug use seek to explain human drug usage from the perspective of evolutionary fitness. Plants for instance, may provide fitness benefits by relieving pain. Proponents of this model of drug use suggest that the consumption of pharmacological substances for medicinal purposes evolved in the backdrop of human-plant coevolution as a means of self-medication. Humans thus learned to ignore the cues of plant toxicity (e.g. bitter taste) because ingesting the bioactive compounds of plants in small amounts was therapeutic. The hijack model of substance addiction suggests that Psychoactive drugs act on ancient and evolutionarily conserved neural mechanisms associated with positive emotions that evolved to mediate incentive behavior. They induce emotions that in human evolutionary history signaled a benefit for the group. Modern drugs tap into these emotions without passing on any evolutionary advantage. This may explain the modern problems of overuse and addiction. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-term Impact Of Alcohol On The Brain
The long-term impact of alcohol on the brain encompasses a wide range of effects, varying by drinking patterns, age, genetics, and other health factors. Among the many organs alcohol affects, the brain is particularly vulnerable. Heavy drinking causes alcohol-related brain damage, with alcohol acting as a direct neurotoxin to nerve cells, while low levels of alcohol consumption can cause decreases in brain volume, regional gray matter volume, and white matter microstructure. Low-to-moderate alcohol intake may be associated with certain cognitive benefits or neuroprotection in older adults. Social and psychological factors can offer minor protective effects. The overall relationship between alcohol use and brain health is complex, reflecting the balance between alcohol's neurotoxic effects and potential modulatory influences. Classification The neurological consequences of long-term alcohol use can be broadly classified into harmful outcomes (e.g., brain atrophy, cognitive dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoned Ape Theory
The stoned ape theory is a controversial hypothesis first proposed by American ethnobotanist and mystic Terence McKenna in his 1992 book '' Food of the Gods''. The idea claims that the cognitive revolution was caused by the addition of psilocybin mushrooms, specifically the mushroom ''Psilocybe cubensis,'' into the human diet around 100,000 years ago. Using evidence largely based on studies from Roland L. Fischer et al. from the 1960s and 1970s, he attributed much of the mental strides made by humans during the cognitive revolution to the effects of psilocybin intake found by Fischer. McKenna's argument has largely been ignored by the scientific community, who cite numerous alleged discrepancies within his theory and claim that his conclusions were arrived at via a fundamental misunderstanding of Fischer's studies. McKenna's theory was not based on scientific evidence. Overview In his book, McKenna argued that due to desertification in Africa, humans retreated to the shrinkin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of alcohol-related substance abuse. This spectrum can range from being mild, moderate, or severe. This can look like consumption of more than 2 drinks per day on average for men, or more than 1 drink per day on average for women, to binge drinking. Alcohol abuse was a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-IV, but it has been merged with alcohol dependence in the DSM-5 into alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder, also known as AUD, shares similar conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the most used term, alcoholism. Globally, excessive alcohol consumption is the seventh leading risk factor for both death and the burden of disease and injury, representing 5.1% of the total global burden of disease and injury, measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). After tobacco, alcohol accounts for a higher burden of disease than any other drug. Alcohol use is a major cause of preve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
